81 



In ocean affairs, the "ocean industry" in g:eneral lacks a unified front, 

 or a spokesman or representative in Washington capable of present- 

 ing the industry's point of view. It remains as uncoordinated as were 

 the Federal agencies prior to the establishment of the National Coun- 

 cil on Marine Resources and Engineering Development, and the Na- 

 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Although 

 a NOAA had been recommended by the Commission on Marine Sci- 

 ence, Engineering, and Resources, the NOAA that came into existence 

 in October 1970 fell short of the Commission's recommendations, leav- 

 ing many ocean activities scattered among other Federal agencies. 



The machinery of most governments does not provide adequately 

 for coordination between individuals qualified to judge in the real 

 world of politics and people, and those qualified to judge in the real 

 world of technical facts. Often, one world seems to be completely 

 oblivious or unaware of the existence of the other. It has been demon- 

 strated, however, that scientists can work very effectively in formu- 

 lating policy and participating in the diplomatic process. Modern 

 diplomats are becoming increasingly aware of the effect of science and 

 technology on shaping their daily endeavors. Although most nations 

 have come to recognize the importance of scientists in conducting 

 their international affairs, no country seems to have included a sci- 

 entist as part of its diplomatic staff at the United Nations headquar- 

 ters in New York. 



X. Summary 



Planet Earth is essentially a water planet — one large ocean inter- 

 spersed with continental land masses. The global ocean is a common 

 link among these land masses, shared by the nations touching this 

 ocean space. Despite its inherent international characteristics, ocean 

 space has been zoned off, and national jurisdictions and boundaries 

 have been established by the coastal states. 



Progress in marine technology and the widening horizons of scien- 

 tific inquiry have enlarged the sphere of man's knowledge and re- 

 vealed the presence of natural resources in sea water, on the ocean 

 floor, and in the underlying layers. Peace and equity require inter- 

 nationally acceptable boundaries and definitions of territorial limits, 

 fishing zones, the high seas, the continental shelf, and the sea floor be- 

 yond the limits of national jurisdiction. It has become necessary to 

 survey the ocean space, to collect the scientific data on which these 

 definitions should be based, and to inventory the known and potential 

 resources of the seabed. 



The crust of the Earth as a whole is composed of continental plat- 

 forms and ocean basins. Geologically, the continental land masses ex- 

 tend beyond the shoreline. A relatively narrow strip, the "continental 

 margin," of each platform, is under water, belonging geologically to 

 the adjacent continent and not to the ocean basin. The continental 

 margin has three components : The shelf, the slope, and the rise. The 

 width of the shelf varies throughout the world, but an average water 

 depth of 100 fathoms (600 feet) has been adopted as conveniently 

 marking the legal, rather than the geological, width of the continental 

 shelf. 



